Sigourney Weaver: Two Avatar sequels are done filming, two more have begun

James Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar is the highest-grossing movie of all time, raking in an unbelievable $2.788 billion during its theatrical run. Naturally, Hollywood is interested in making a sequel or two…or four. And while Sigourney Weaver’s character, Dr. Grace Augustine, died in the first film, she’s still coming back for the follow-ups, playing someone new.

Weaver spoke to The Hollywood Reporter all about it, starting with whether she’s playing different characters in each of the many sequels:

"No, it’s a continuous character. We just finished shooting two and three. We shot it in L.A. and James has announced publicly that there’s a lot of underwater work, so we learned how to free dive and we did many scenes underwater, which was challenging and kind of cool."

So the first and second sequels are in the can, although we’re guessing massive amounts of special effects work remains. As for filming underwater, it sounds like it has its challenges. “The one scary thing is sometimes you have to be weighted down to be on the bottom. Luckily, I would have a safety diver on each arm to get me back to the surface.” This gives us flashes of one of Cameron’s other projects: 1989’s The Abyss.

Weaver also detailed how the five films will work together once completed. “They’re all independent,” she said. “It works without four and five, but it really is a big saga.”

"In this one he got to tell this very personal story. They’re amazing. There’s a message to not sacrifice everything for greed and conquest. It will take all four movies to really make that message loud and clear for the whole world."

All of that sounds intriguing, although you have to wonder if Cameron needs five film to get his message across; the first Avatar did came out of the gate with a strong environmentalist message. Then again, Cameron directed Terminator 2 and Titanic and Aliens and I didn’t, so I can probably afford to cut him some slack.

Finally, Weaver discussed whether she could return as Ellen Ripley — her most iconic role — in director Neill Blomkamp’s long-gestating Alien 5 project:

"We almost started to do it when I was working with James Cameron. But by the time we were put off by Fox, Neill had gotten so many jobs that we’d have to wait probably. I’m busy doing Avatar 4 and 5. I love working with Neill and I think he’d do a terrific job, and James Cameron really thinks it’s a great idea, so you never know. Right now, I think Neill’s got like three projects going at once."

So you’re saying there’s a chance? Make it happen!

To stay up to date on everything Game of Thrones, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels